Due to rising COVID-19 infections and exposure in its workforce, Metro has reduced bus service and instituted several new health and safety measures.

Unvaccinated employees who fail to comply with the weekly testing requirement will face unpaid suspension beginning Jan. 16, Metro announced on Tuesday. Then, employees will have 30 days to get vaccinated or tested, or else they will be subject to termination. Metro is also updating its definition of what it means to be fully vaccinated, requiring employees to enter booster information into its online portal by the end of the month. In another effort to reduce spread and keep the community safe, bus operators are also allowed to bypass customers not wearing masks.

The region’s public transportation system joins restaurants, schools and other sectors being disrupted by the unprecedented surge due to the highly-contagious omicron variant. And commuters have already faced significant delays on Metro because of COVID-19, the 7000-Series safety problems, and, most recently, weather.

Beginning Monday, Jan. 10, Metro will reduce bus services on weekdays to a Saturday schedule. Customers are being encouraged to check timetables for specific routes and consider alternative sources of transportation. Metrorail will continue to operate as is. Some routes will be added to the Saturday schedule in order to protect those who work in hospitals, grocery stores, and other essential workplaces.

Screenshot from Metro website

“Scaling back service will ensure customers who rely on Metrobus, Metrorail and MetroAccess for transportation have a more reliable schedule,” says Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld in a statement. “Metro employees live in some of the neighborhoods hardest hit by the pandemic and are exposed to the surge in the region and throughout the nation. It’s important that the [Metro Pandemic] taskforce take steps to make Metro operationally sound to meet the needs of our customers.”

Buses served as a more reliable option for some customers after Metro removed the 7000-series trains from service due to wheel problems. It’s unclear when those trains will return, given that the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission just pulled several again just last week. Metro says customers should experience “more frequent” rail service “at stations served by multiple lines,” in its latest announcement.

Metro appears to have no other choice but to reduce bus service, given how many employees are out due to COVID-19. As of Tuesday, 172 employees have tested positive and thus have not returned to work, according to Metro. It’s unclear how many employees who have been exposed to the virus are also quarantining.

The pandemic has hit transportation workers hard. Metro lost seven employees to the deadly virus. While omicron does not appear as lethal, the variant has resulted in unparalleled infections.

“I’ve never seen as many of my members — my friends and family, but my members getting sick with COVID like I’m seeing now,” says Raymond Jackson, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689, Metro’s largest union.

Given how transmissible omicron is, Jackson is grateful that Metro is now allowing bus operators to bypass customers who are seen not wearing masks. “I can almost tell you that most of us bus operators are going to stop at those bus stops because it’s just what we do. But I appreciate them giving us the chance to make the decision on whether or not we want to pick that unsafe rider up or not,” he told DCist/WAMU.

Jackson also thinks Metro made the right call by reducing services, although he thinks the agency could have “went a little deeper than what they did.” “I think that this country spends too much time worrying about its economy than it does about its workforce,” he adds.

As for the penalty for employees who do not comply with the vaccine-or-test requirement? “I will never agree to any discipline for any of my members. I will agree to sit down and talk with you about it,” says Jackson.

According to a Metro spokesperson, approximately 1,500 employees of the roughly 12,000-member workforce are unvaccinated and thus need to get tested weekly. Of that, approximately 230 failed to submit to weekly testing, as of Tuesday. It’s unclear how many of those members are unionized. Jackson says his members typically comply with Metro protocols. The vaccine-or-test requirement has been in effect since early September.

In response to omicron, Metro is also requiring employees to enter booster information into Metro’s online portal “as part of their fully vaccinated status.” “All efforts and precautions are being taken to reduce serious illness and transmission of the Omicron variant to vaccinated employees and riders,” Metro said in the Tuesday release.